The Muppets short-form series moves ahead at Disney+

The Muppets will be returning to our screens thanks to Disney+, but only as a short-form series.

The House of Mouse has focused on its existing franchises, brands and characters in building a slate of content for its new subsection streaming service, tapping into everything from Star Wars and Marvel to Pixar. As part of that strategy, The Muppets were set to feature in Muppets Live Another Day, a new scripted comedy series by Josh Gad and Once Upon a Time creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis. Now, though, that project has been axed.

The ABC Signature-produced series was going to pick up after 1984’s The Muppets Take Manhattan, with Kermit working to reunite The Muppets to help find Rowlf who has gone missing.

That premise was ordered to pilot, but Deadline reports that creative differences between the writing team and Muppet Studio have since opened up. A variety series, reimagining the classic The Muppet Show, was also in development, but that has now been reworked as a short-form project, titled Muppets Now.

The unscripted series short-form “unscripted” show, featuring celebrity guests. It will debut on Disney+ in 2020.
ABC previously tried a Muppets reboot series with the 2015 The Muppets, which lasted one season. Meanwhile, Disney Junior is enjoying success with Muppet Babies, which recently received an early third-season renewal.
Muppets Live Another Day was one of two comedy pilots ordered by Disney+, along with Four Dads, which also did not go forward. Additionally, the streamer recently opted not to proceed with high-profile series Book of Enchantment, an adaptation of the Villains book series by Serena Valentino, which had been in unofficial pre-production. Disney+ also passed on kid series Sulphur Springs, which became a pilot at the Disney Channel.
In addition to original series from Marvel and Lucasfilm, Disney+ will offer series reboots of two hugely popular Disney Channel franchises, High School Musical and Lizzie McGuire. The Muppets Comedy Series Reboot Not Going Forward At Disney+

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